Chapter Text
Armis had asked him a few times why he stuck to guns and didn’t use his dinosaur half to fight, as he was a fair bit stronger when he unleashed his feral side. Jurard had only told them that he got tired, that the power exhausted him, and that he ripped a hole in the back of his pants. But that wasn't the true reason. No, there was another reason, one his family drilled into him when he was just a child.
‘Jurard, as you know, we are a royal family of dinosaurs. Many people want us not only for our wealth, but also for our blood. Keep your dinosaur half hidden, and only tell those who you can trust your life with.’ His mother had told him.
When Jurard had run away from his kingdom, he’d formed Armis and accidentally tapped into his dinosaur side during a hunt. Armis had been amazed by his powers, and Jurard worried that they would use him for the very same. He demanded that they keep it a secret from everyone, he didn't want the all of the Badlands to know that he was part dinosaur. Armis had questioned why he was so worried, but Jurard had only asked them to promise him that they would never tell a soul.
It had been over two years since Jurard accidently let his secret out to Armis, and he thought everything would be okay.
But for weeks now, Jurard had felt eyes on him. Everytime he went on a hunt, he felt someone watching him. Everytime he went into town, he felt eyes following him, watching his every move. On one occasion, when he and Octavio went to pick up supplies in town, Octavio caught Jurard anxiously looking over his shoulder every few minutes. Octavio questioned it, but Jurard waved him off and told him not to worry about it.
Jurard tried his best to hide the anxiety he was feeling, but Armis started to pick up on it. They already knew Jurard was a scaredy-cat and would scream and jump whenever someone or something startled him, but it was getting worse. Everytime the unit was out together, they would see Jurard checking over his shoulder, or looking around at everything and everyone, as if something was following him. They tried to ask him about it, but Jurard told them that it wasn’t a huge deal and everything was fine.
Jurard knew he couldn't keep living in fear, so he tried to continue his normal everyday life. He went to pick himself up a solo hunt, hoping that that would calm his nerves. When he walked into the Bounty Hunter office to check the board, Diana, the dark blue haired receptionist pulled him over and handed him a bounty, stating that some men had come by and dropped it off specifically for Jurard T Rexford of the Armis Unit, saying it was something only he could do. Jurard had been nervous, but accepted the hunt and went back to the tavern.
"Jurard… are you sure about this?" Octavio questioned his leader as he looked over the request. Jurard's hands were shaking, but he didn't call him out on it.
"I'll be fine. It's just a simple Corruption hunt in Angelridge and it should only take twoish, maybe three days tops." Jurard waved him off.
"You and simple do not belong in the same sentence." Ruze shook his head as he sighed. He watched as Jurard went from being nervous, to processing Ruze's words, to annoyed.
"Oh, fuck you Ruze!" Jurard hissed as he flipped off his second in command.
"No thanks, dude." Ruze smirked as he leaned back in his chair. Jurard started to grumble out some form of a curse when Goldbullet cut him off.
"I dunno, this seems fishy. Why would someone request only you for a hunt?" He questioned as he took the bounty form from Octavio and gave it a once over. "You would think they would have requested all of us."
Jurard shrugged. "Maybe it's not that big of a problem?"
"So they wanted the guy with the worst aim to go?"
"Oh, eat shit Ruze!"
"Hey now. Jurard, are you sure you don't want one of us to go with you?" Goldbullet looked at his leader with worry.
"I'll be fine. I'm a big boy, I can handle this Corruption on my own." Jurard waved Goldbullet’s concern off. "Now, I'm gonna go pack some supplies and head out."
"Message us when you get there!"
"Goldie, you're mothering him, stop it." Ruze snickered
Jurard heard the three start to laugh and bicker as he walked down the stairs to his room in the basement. Was he going to be okay? Even he wasn't so sure. That feeling of being watched hadn’t gone away. Maybe he should bring someone? No, he'd be fine. He was Jurard T Rexford after all! With shaky hands, Jurard packed a light bag with only enough clothes and ammunition to last him an extra two days. Goldbullet packed him a few health potions and rations and handed him the bag, his face still full of worry.
Jurard reassured everyone that he'd be right as rain as he left the Armis Tavern, but in reality, he was scared. That feeling hadn’t gone away, in fact it was getting even worse . He was lucky the trip to Angelridge was only a 12 hour trek by foot, he was sure he wouldn't have slept if the journey was longer. As Jurard entered the little village, he went straight to the little tavern where his contact was said to be waiting for him.
He entered the tavern and was amazed to find it bustling, every table was full with either bounty hunters or locals. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, the smell of hot food and alcohol filled his nose and he realized how hungry he was. No one noticed him walking in, which eased his anxiety a bit, but not by much. He still felt like someone was watching his every movement as he dragged his tired feet to the bar to flag a barmaid down.
A barmaid happily walked over to the tired dinosaur and gave him a warm smile. “Well hey there, welcome to The Phoenix tavern! What can I do for you?” The brunette asked as she leaned against the bar.
“I’m looking for a Cecil Woodrow. I was told to meet him here?” Jurard questioned as suppressed a small yawn.
“Big man Cici? He's in the corner over there.” The lady pointed to a table in the far left corner where three men were sitting and chatting, occasionally looking over at his direction. When Jurard turned to look at the table, an uneasy feeling washed over him. Something about those men and the way they were gesturing at him made him feel off. Once the men noticed that Jurard was looking at them, one got up and walked over.
“I take it you're looking for me if Lina is pointing you in my direction.” The man's voice was smooth, too smooth for Jurard, as if he’d said that line many times in the past. He was slightly taller than Jurard, but only by a little bit, with slicked back, dirty blond hair. The man definitely had the build of a bounty hunter and the scars to prove it. His emerald eyes were staring into Jurard's ruby ones and shone with glee, as if the hunter had just found its prey.
“I take it you're Cecil Woodrow?” Jurard asked as he looked the man up and down, his anxiety coming back in full force.
“That's me. You must be my contact from the Armis Unit?” The man, Cecil, questioned as he eyed the dinosaur. He held a hand out for Jurard.
“Y-yes, I am Jurard T Rexford.” Jurard looked down at the extended hand then back up. Jurard returned the handshake, but wasn't expecting the snake-like grip the man had. The two shook hands, but Cecil didn’t release his grip. He studied Jurard and looked him up and down. After a few more seconds of staring, Cecil released his grip and gave him a warm inviting smile.
Cecil was an odd man.
“It’s wonderful to meet you. Please, follow me. We have a lot to discuss.” Cecil guided Jurard to the back table where the other two men were sitting. One was shorter than Jurard with dark brown hair, the other was the same height as Jurard and had black hair. Both looked as if they had been in the bounty hunting business for years.
Anxiety or not, Jurard had a job to do. He took a deep breath to help himself calm down, and began to talk to the other men about the request. Cecil had gone up to the bar and came back a few minutes later with drinks and handed them out. Jurard, not wanting to be rude, slowly drank while the four talked, even though he wasn’t a fan of alcohol.
After some time had passed, Jurard had to stop talking because his head started to feel funny.
“Jurard? Are you ok?” Andre, the black haired man asked as he watched Jurard start to nod off, his voice full of worry.
“I… think so?” Jurard’s mouth felt like it was stuffed full of cotton, he was having a hard time keeping his head up. ‘What's happening to me?’ Jurard saw the men talking, but he couldn't really hear them. Everything sounded like it was under water. He felt someone shake him and turned to his side to see Cecil looking at him with concern.
“I think you need to rest. Guys, can one of you go up and get a room key? He's not looking good.” Cecil turned to his men then back to Jurard, who was trying everything in his power to stay sitting in his chair.
His head felt light, like he was swimming in clouds, his mouth was dry, and his body felt like it was floating. Every time he tried to move his head, his vision would lag behind him. ‘I can't be drunk.. can I? No this.. is.. different…’ Jurard could barely keep his thoughts in order and didn't realize Cecil was talking to him until his mind registered a hand waving in front of his face. Jurard looked up slowly and saw Cecil's mouth move, but couldn't quite piece together what he was saying. His head started to hurt.
“-rard? Jurard? Are you okay?” Cecil's worried green eyes were scanning Jurard's face. The dinosaur prince was flushed, and he felt warm. His eyes were unfocused and his pupils, which are normally slits, were blown wide, taking in so much light.
“Ey boss, we got a room key.” The others came back, holding up a small key on a ring.
“Perfect, Andre, help me lift him, and Dale grab his bag.” Cecil ordered as he looked back down at Jurard. “Hey, we're gonna get you into a room for you to rest, ok?”
“I.. uh… huh?” Jurard looked up at Cecil, slowly pieced together what he said, then slowly nodded. “Oh-okay.” He mumbled out as he felt hands under his armpits lifting him up out of his seat. Jurard stumbled slightly as he was guided out of the tavern's dining area and back to the rented rooms. He could barely tell where he was and where the men were leading him, certain he was on the verge of passing out. He stumbled and started to fall out of Cecil and Andre’s grip, but he felt himself get pulled back up into a standing position.
“Whoa there, we're almost to the room.” Cecil said jovially as he helped Jurard reorient himself. Once he was stable, Cecil and Andre started to guide him to the room again.
‘This feels… wrong.’ Jurard thought as he started to feel heavy.
“Ah, here we are.” Dale said as the four stopped in front of a room at the far end of the hallway. He put the key in and unlocked the door. Cecil and Andre guided Jurard into the dark room while Dale closed the door behind them. A light was turned on and lit up the empty room.
Jurard was confused. Weren’t they taking him to a room for him to rest in? There was nothing here, no bed, no desk, nothing. It was just an empty room. There wasn’t even a window. Jurard felt himself get pushed onto the floor and he let out a yelp as his body collided with the ground. He sloppily tried to push himself up, but a foot slammed down on his hand. Jurard let out a pained moan as he looked up, disoriented. His eyes widened in horror as the three men above him smirked.
“Andre, tell the contact that we've acquired the package. Let him know that we'll be delivering him soon.” Cecil grinned as he looked down at the dinosaur.
“Will do.” Andre walked out of the room leaving Jurard alone with Dale and Cecil.
Cecil removed his foot, then knelt down. “Someone is paying big bucks for you, Dinosaur Prince.” Jurard’s eyes got even wider. “We’ve been keeping an eye on you. Watching you. I can't believe you were stupid enough to come alone, but that made it so easy for us. All we had to do was drug your drink.” Cecil ruffled Jurard’s hair as he stood back up. “Dale, tie him up and stuff him in the box.”
“Roger.”
Jurard tried to see where Dale walked away to, but his body wasn’t responding. All he could do was lay there and keep breathing. His eyelids started to get heavy and the last thing he saw was piercing emerald eyes greedily watching him as his world went black.